Changing the animals behavior can have a significant impact if that change in behavior comes into direct conflict with the safety of people at the shore.

We aren’t just changing the way the sharks behave but we are also setting them up to seek out people in unsolicited encounters.

Case in point, Florida.

Cage diving with white sharks - Credit: Studio50

Desperately Seeking Humans

In 2002, the state of Florida banned shark feeding dive charters because these feedings were changing the behaviors of the sharks instinctual patterns.

In 2014, when sharks in the Palm Beach area were acting in “unusually aggressive manner, as if they were expecting to be fed,” the Florida Fish and Game Division went undercover on dive boats and found an operation feeding sharks. This led to a series of arrests.

For better or worse, sharks in the area had changed their behavior and began connecting humans as a food source. Typically, these feeding are based on hand feeding or bucket baiting which introduces a bucket of bait that is opened and left for the sharks to feed upon.

Eco-tourism has made compelling arguments on this issue explaining that divers were more active in understanding and conserving sharks and habitat if they see them in the water, under controlled feeding condition.

Another way of shark feeding is for boxes of bait to be left open - Credit: frantisekhojdysz

Is there a Bright Side?

Dr. David Delany, a marine ecologist and conservation biologist explains, in an interview, that shark feeding can be productive and observational, just as an aquarium feeding might help people understand the species a bit more.

Taking it a step further, Dr. Delany feels that shark feeding can take on a scientific purpose as well. “As an example of a shark dive serving multiple purposes, I participated in a baited shark dive in Umkomaas, South Africa and saw dozens of black tip sharks.

Many had hooks in their mouths, gills, and sides. The amount of tackle gear caused us to realize that the effect fisherman have on coastal shark species was greater than we previously thought, and caused us to focus efforts on minimizing the effect fishermen have on coastal shark species.”

The connection between diving and the desire to see apex predators in their natural environment will always have two sides.

Can we observe the environment without changing it? And if we do create a change in environment or behavior, how much of that are we willing to own?